Hey, Doll
by Apothecary Princess
Summary: KakaIru. Spoilers. Post chapter 424. Oneshot. Pain's defeated, but what's Iruka to do now?


_Just a oneshot drabble, I was bored. Don't expect miracles, and it's not beta'd so if it's got spelling mistakes, please tell._

It hadn't been an especially big or special funeral.

Of course it hadn't- he was foolish for expecting it. Hundreds of others had died, and they all had to be commemorated as well. But he still felt that somehow, the man should have been remembered in a better way than a brief mention than a mass funeral.

On the gravestone there was a simple inscription:

'Kakashi Hatake- teacher, friend and fellow nin. May he forever be in our hearts and minds.'

Iruka knelt down beside the headstone. Sighing, he barely registered the fresh tears that streamed down his cheeks. They had been coming and going for hours- though it was not an uncommon sight. Everyone in the village had lost someone.

Laying in the wet grass, he stared up at the cloudy grey sky. Surely there was no God, there couldn't be if He'd let this happen. If he did exist, he'd left this part of the world, or Konoha at least. The village seemed to attract every particle of bad luck that existed in the land.

The dew soaked through his standard jounin uniform, but he didn't care. He didn't even care that the clothes were ripped and bloodstained. The battle only ended three hours ago, after three days of fighting non-stop. His chakra was completely exhausted, his eyes red rimmed and sore. But no-one was well, no-one was happy. He couldn't count himself special.

He stared at the gravestone beside him, sighing as the tears leaked onto the grass. The body hadn't been found- it had been presumed that Pain had destroyed it in one of his chakra blasts. One of the Pains, anyway.

Iruka closed his eyes, tears still seeping from under the closed lids. HE tried to remember every moment that they'd spent together, every laugh, every idiotic bickering, every joke, every look. His memories seemed strangely inadequate, and for once he wished he was something other than himself, something more than a mere human. He wanted to keep the memories as clear and as close as possible. He would happily lay by the grave forever is it meant that he would remember, that somehow he would never, ever forget.

"_Hey, sup Doll."_

_The silver haired copy-nin joined him as he strolled through the streets of the village he loved. Taking a moment to process these words, Iruka turned to older man, staring at him incredulously._

"_What did you just call me?"_

"_Doll. It's like Dolphin… but not."_

In spite of himself, Iruka couldn't help but let a small smile creep onto his lips, though the tears flowed all the faster for it. He heard footsteps beside him, vaguely sensed the chakra presence, but couldn't care to look up at see who it was. He didn't want to face real life- didn't want to come back from the swirl of memories that were surrounding him, coating him in a layer of bubble wrap, making him less breakable, less fragile. But he had to. He was still a ninja.

"'Ruka…"

The familiar voice made him look up, eyes snapping open in spite of himself. He gasped- it couldn't be, he was dead. Goddamnit, he was dead, Iruka was lying next to his grave, it couldn't be, he was gone, he was drained and tired, his mind was playing tricks.. A million excuses ran through his head, trying to find a reason for the impossible fact that was in front of him…

"What?? You didn't think that you'd get rid of me that easily, did ya?"

Iruka's eyes widened, his tears streamed, his heart contracted and he managed to gasp out:

"'Kashi…?"

Kakashi's mismatched eyes softened, his usual wrap lay torn around his neck. He looked as worn out, as beaten down as everyone else. But he smiled as he whispered back to the brown haired man

"Hiya, Doll."

Iruka launched himself into Kakashi's arms. He hoped against hope that the arms would encircle him, hoped that… hoped that his reason for existence was still intact... that he would have something that had been so cruelly stolen given back… hoped that the illusion wouldn't break…

_And I'll let you decide what happens next._


End file.
